1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display panel and a manufacturing method thereof, and more particularly to a display panel which is manufactured to have a size and a shape different from a standard specification through reprocess of a standard display panel in which a first substrate and a second substrate are bonded together, and a manufacturing method thereof.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Most of information communication systems have operated based on digital signal process technology. On the contrary, because information humans hear and see is analog information, a digital signal has to be converted into an analog signal.
In recent years, various kinds of flat display devices capable of reducing weight and volume which are disadvantages of a cathode ray tube have been developed. Such flat display devices include liquid crystal displays (“LCDs”), field emission displays (“FEDs”), plasma display panels (“PDPs”), electroluminescence devices (“ELDs”), electrophoresis displays (“EPDs”), flexible displays, and the like. The ELDs include inorganic ELDs and organic ELDs. An example of the organic ELDs includes an organic light emitting diode (OLED).
Existing display module manufacturers manufacture display panels according to specifications satisfying standard resolutions (standard specification) shown in following Table 1.
TABLE 1ResolutionXYX:YVGA64048043SVGA80060043XGA102476843XGA+115286443WXGA12808001610SXGA1280102454WXGA+14409001610UXGA1600120043WSXGA+168010501610WUXGA192012001610QXGA2048153643WQXGA256016001610QSXGA2560204854WQSXGA320020482516QUXGA3200240043WQUXGA380024001610
Recently, with the expansion of use of the displays, there are increasing demands for displays having nonstandard sizes different from the standard specifications or unusual shapes. For example, digital information displays (“DIDs”) used as digital billboards for various kinds of information and promotions in places such as theaters, wedding halls, hotel lobbies, public offices, or tourist spots, and display devices used as navigation devices in automobiles, ships, and airplanes, have attracted attentions as new product group in the display industry.
However, the display devices such as the LCDs, the FEDs, the ELDs, the EPDs, the PDPs, and the flexible displays, which are currently used, are manufactured according to the standard specifications, and thus it is difficult for them to be used as the DIDs or the navigation display devices which require diversified sizes.
The existing display module manufacturers do not manufacture nonstandard display panels since even if there is a demand for nonstandard display panels, the market thereof is much smaller than the standard display market. In other words, if display panels of various sizes are to be manufactured, a photo mask is required to be designed, patterned, and formed according to each size, and this causes manufacturing costs to be increased. Therefore, it is not efficient to manufacture the nonstandard display panels using separate photo masks. Thereby, there is a need for methods for satisfying the demands for the nonstandard display panels, or display panels having sizes or shapes which are not manufactured by the existing display module manufacturers. For this, there has been a study on a method for manufacturing nonstandard display panels or display panels having unusual shapes through reprocess of standard display panels which have been manufactured by the existing display module manufacturers. In this method, a portion of a standard display panel which has been manufactured is cut to have a desired size or shape, and the cut surface is sealed. However, it is not easy to seal the cut surface, and even after the cut surface is sealed, the sealing is not strong, and thus a sealing defect occurs.
For example, a liquid crystal display panel manufactured by the existing LCD module manufacturer, which is used in an active matrix thin film transistor LCD (AM TFT LCD), includes an upper glass substrate 11, a lower glass substrate 12, and a liquid crystal layer 14 which is sealed by a sealant 13 is interposed therebetween. A color filter array is formed on the upper glass substrate 11, a TFT array is formed on the lower glass substrate 12, and spacers for maintaining a cell gap of the liquid crystal layer 14 are disposed therebetween. The cell gap of the liquid crystal layer 14 is maintained to be as high as the spacers due to the internal vacuum of the liquid crystal display panel before being cut. When the liquid crystal display panel is cut, the vacuum pressure inside the liquid crystal display panel varies, and thus the liquid crystal molecules are partially collected or reduced due to air introduced into the liquid crystal layer or due to bending or twisting caused by the self-weight of the liquid crystal display panel. Therefore, there is a need to solve the problems generated after being cut.